Romney's Touting of Rubio Increases VP Speculation — Again

Marco Rubio’s stock as potential running mate to Mitt Romney seems to be rising, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Romney mentioned the Florida senator in a CNN interview from London, during a discussion about wealth and success with host Piers Morgan.

Romney told Morgan: "I heard Marco Rubio the other day…he said, 'You know we were poor living in Miami. We saw these all these big homes across town. My parents never said 'Gee, why don't those people give us some of what they have?' They said instead, 'Aren't we lucky to live in a country with education and hard work, we might be able to achieve that ourselves.'"

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Rubio observers have noticed an uptick in Romney mentions of him lately, according to the Tampa bay Times, possibly indicating that the Romney campaign is giving Rubio a harder look than some have thought.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said yesterday he thinks Rubio is ready to be vice president and that he has shared those thoughts with Romney.

Romney is expected to announce a decision sometime before the Republican convention late next month in Tampa, Fla. In an interview with the Associated Press, Bush said he pitched Rubio during a recent conversation he had with Romney. He said that Romney didn't indicate which way the search for a vice presidential candidate was taking him.